


Like the Softening of a Stone

by Planetgirl2



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I love Mai, Mai (Avatar)-Centric, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Troubles, maiko, zuko is a good husband
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:48:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28184184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Planetgirl2/pseuds/Planetgirl2
Summary: A series of one-shots leading up to the birth of Mai and Zuko's child. Mai is independent, tough and cold, but learns to lean into a different side of herself as her and Zuko experience the turbulences that come with pregnancy.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Some of these one-shots mention difficulty getting pregnant as well as complications during pregnancy. There is nothing graphic, but there will be mentions of certain events or scenarios that could be triggering to some. I will try and put specific warnings at the beginning of each chapter. I have seen LoK, but have not read any of the comics (yet), so this is technically AU. I have never written an Avatar fic before, but this was just an idea I had in my head that I wanted to try and write. I tried to capture Mai and Zuko as best as I could. They are my two favorite characters, so I hope I did them justice! I'm not sure how many chapters this will be, but I have a few ideas.

Mai wasn’t a bender, but if she were, she would be an earthbender. She often heard Zuko describe them as enduring and strong; she had seen Zuko’s blind, fierce friend face every scenario head on despite the challenges. During her time in Ba Sing Se Mai often found herself admiring the large stone walls encasing the city, and thought of how they had endured decades of war and had yet to fall. 

Akin to the walls, Mai was determined not to fall. She prided herself on withering every storm that was thrown her way and was able to detach from any situation in order to protect herself. She was practiced in withdrawing and hiding her emotions to keep the peace both around her and within her. Whether it was to preserve her father’s political career or maintain years of friendship with Azula, like the walls of Ba Sing Se, and like the earthbenders she had seen, Mai was a master of preservation. 

Of course, she would never dream of telling Zuko this, lest she break his heart. Zuko often told her affectionately that she had the true spirit of a firebender, but Agni refused to make her a bender because he knew she would have been too powerful for this world. Mai was content and slightly flattered to receive such high praise from her husband, though she secretly disagreed. 

Mai was cold. Anyone who interacted with her for more than a minute would tell you how frigid she was. Her voice was uncaring, her eyes were dark, and with her pale complexion contrasted with her obsidian hair, Mai was pretty sure this is what she’ll look like dead. She was no firebender, she had no warmth to offer. For the most part, Mai paid no mind to this, and let her heart sit cold and heavy like a stone in the cavern of her chest. It protected her. She had made herself untouchable to those around her- for the most part. 

Zuko was the drill that was determined to break down Mai’s carefully constructed walls. He was a ginormous, fire nation branded drill that chipped away at even her thickest of walls. This was especially true once they were married. They had lived and endured years of war and darkness, but like Uncle Iroh always said, they finally arrived at a better place. They had been married for almost three years, were both adjusted to their positions as Fire Lord and Lady, and the Fire Nation had finally settled into an era of peace and stability, except for one small matter. 

The pressure for an heir was not new to Mai and Zuko. To their great annoyance, the council and the Fire Sages had been dropping not-so-subtle hints about a future Fire Lord since the day Mai and Zuko were married. However, the couple was adamant about taking the first year of their marriage to adjust to each other as well as their changed political roles. Zuko had a few years as Fire Lord under his belt, but Mai had faced many new challenges as a newlywed Fire Lady; hosting meetings and assisting her husband. However, as the second year of their marriage passed peacefully, Zuko began to warm to the idea of having a child. Mai was still hesitant, and Zuko was happy to respect Mai’s wishes to wait a little longer. It wasn't that she didn't want kids, she definitely wanted at least one, and knew Zuko would probably want more eventually, but Mai still doubted. At first Mai had told herself that the world was the problem, and that it was too unstable for them to raise a child, which was true for a while. However, as her husband and the Avatar continued to govern and bring peace, this excuse began to wither away, leaving Mai without anything to hide behind.

In reality, it was herself that Mai doubted more than anything. Both her and Zuko carried a fair amount of baggage from their childhood, and it had resulted in neither of them being great at showing affection or emotion. Zuko had always been better at expressing himself (which wasn’t saying much), although for a long time it often came out suddenly through bursts of anger when he reached his boiling point. Mai on the other hand, locked up her emotions deep within her walls, and only let them see the light of day when absolutely necessary, or when Zuko pried them out of her with a crowbar. She still thought about the time he had called her a “big blah” at that party on Ember Island. He had apologized profusely, and she knew he would feel tremendous guilt if he knew how his words and everyone else’s affected her. She was trying to work on it, really she was, and she was getting much better at opening up to Zuko and some of their close friends, but showing affection did not come easily. Zuko knew her well enough to read between the lines, but they had been building and developing their relationship for years, and it hadn’t been easy. This was the reason Mai feared having a child. How could she be a good mother and care for her child when it had taken her years to be at this place with her husband? But how could she ever tell Zuko this? He might tell her it’s stupid and that she needs to get over it. Despite her insecurities, she truly did want a child, and she wanted more than anything to give Zuko a child and start their family. 

They were sitting in one of their big monthly meetings where her and Zuko, the Fire Sages, the council of advisors, and some nobility all met to discuss the issues of the nation. As soon as the Fire Sages mentioned it, Mai knew Zuko would bring it up with her later. It had been many months since they discussed the topic of children, and after the Sages had mentioned once again the importance of “doing their duty” and “securing the throne,” she knew she would no longer be able to put off the subject, nor did she want to. 

The two of them entered their chambers that evening after the meeting and began tugging off their robes. Sure enough, she heard Zuko timidly clear his throat. When she turned to meet his eyes she felt a twinge of guilt at how sheepish her husband looked about the conversation they were about to have. He sat down on the edge of their bed and began fidgeting with the belt on his robe.

“Hey Mai, I uh… I know we’ve talked about this before and you weren’t ready, which is totally fine by the way!” he put his hands up to reassure her and she could see him shaking slightly with nervousness. “But its been a few months now so I figured maybe we could… I- I was wondering if we could talk about… having kids.” He scratched the back of his head as he avoided eye contact with her. Mai couldn’t help but feel the twinge of guilt swell a little more in her chest. She knew how badly Zuko wanted a child, and could see that he was trying not to pressure her. She was briefly overcome with a surge of affection for her husband and her eyes softened a little as he met her gaze. 

“Is this all because of a certain comment that was made tonight at the council meeting?” She narrowed her eyes slightly and asked somewhat teasingly. 

“Yes. I- I- mean no! No!” he sighed. “I was going to ask you about it soon anyways, the Sages just… kind of brought it up for me. I know last time we talked about this you wanted to wait for a little bit, and if you’re still not ready that’s fine Mai, really. I just figured we ought to discuss it again.” He hung his head slightly and breathed deeply before continuing. “I know it would be a big change for us, but you know I’m ready to start our family whenever you’re ready, so I wanted to… see where your head was at, I guess.” He met her gaze again nervously awaiting her response. 

With his amber eyes looking at her like that, Mai was about a stone’s throw away from immediately agreeing to bear his child and jump into bed with him right there. But she knew deep down that it wouldn’t be fair to her or Zuko if she wasn’t honest with him. 

“Zuko, I’ve been thinking about kids recently too.” She could see the hope spark in his eyes. “I’m still not sure if I’m ready for kids though. I’m sorry.” She finished quietly. He tentatively reached out and grabbed her hands in his. 

“Can we at least talk about it?” he continued, “I mean, what are you not sure about? Is there anything I can do to fix it?” he asked gently.  
“There’s nothing you can do.” Mai responded quietly. He would never let it drop there; bless this man, she knew he would do almost anything to ease her discomfort about having a child. 

“What’s the matter then? Please tell me Mai, maybe there’s someone we can ask or- or we can work something out? If you want more time then of course that’s alright, but I can tell there’s something that’s bugging you. Please tell me what’s wrong Mai.” he responded earnestly. 

Mai should’ve known better than to underestimate her husband. He knew her better than anyone and he could tell that she was evading something. 

_For someone who insists they’d be an earthbender, that’s not very earthbender of you. He at least has a right to know what’s holding you back from the child you both desperately want._ Mai’s thoughts ran through her head.

_Strength. Face it head-on. She could do this._

“I’m not going to be a good mother.” She finally responded, albeit very quietly. She had spoken so softly, she wasn’t sure Zuko had heard her, because he hadn’t reacted at all. She hoped he would say something soon, because Mai was not sure she could bear to admit it again. But when she looked at him she could see the gears turning in his head, comprehending what she had said. 

“Mai I-,” he stuttered, “Mai what? What on earth makes you say that?” He leapt up off the bed and began pacing around their room. Mai watched him anxiously, but he didn’t seem angry? Mai had seem him fly off the handle for much less than this, so why wasn’t her angry at her? He finally knew that she was the only thing standing between them and their beloved child, that _she_ was the one holding him back. But now he was now looking at her with such concern and affection she felt her eyes water, although she refused to let the tears fall. 

_Strength._

“Mai, I don’t know what or who led you to believe you won’t be a good mother, but it’s not true. You are so strong, and you don’t take shit from anyone. There is literally no one else I would rather be the mother of my children. Why don’t you think you’ll be a good mother?” he dropped to his knees before her on the bed and took her hands in his. His eyes were so soft Mai almost couldn’t bear to respond, but she swallowed down the lump in her throat. 

“I’m cold Zuko.” He stared at her confusedly. “Zuko, you know better than anyone that I am the most uncaring and unloving person in the world! How can I ever bring a child into the world knowing it will have to endure me as a mother?” her voice wavered slightly, and her bottom lip quivered. Zuko was still looking at her in confusion, which in turn confused Mai. Why didn’t he understand? She had made it perfectly clear. She could tell he was choosing his next words carefully, and he eventually spoke. 

“Mai, you are one of the most caring people I have ever known. Just because you don’t always show it, doesn’t mean you don’t love others or care about them! I mean, you love me, and even though they make it difficult, I know you love our friends, and you love Tom-Tom more than anything in the world!” he finished.  
“Zuko of course I love you, but it took what? Six or seven years for me to admit it? And even if I do care about other people, they don’t know it! I’ve never told them, so it doesn’t even matter because they don’t know, and I’m not good at telling them.” She clenched her hands in his. 

“You may not tell them in so many words, or with physical affection, but trust me, everyone knows how much you care. Aang knows you care when you let him have the room with the big balcony so Appa can sleep out there. Sokka knows you care when you arrange his favorite meal every time he comes to visit. Ty Lee knows you love her when you let her ramble and walk around on her hands with you. You taught Katara how to throw icicles like you throw your knives! And why do you think we can never get Toph out of our hair? I’ve seen her punch you dozens of times!” he read Mai’s confused expression. “That’s how Toph shows affection- physical pain I guess. If anyone has trouble expressing affection, it’s her.” Zuko chuckled softly and squeezed her hands before he went on. “And me. You went against the Fire Nation, against _Azula_ , because you loved me.” His eyes shone. “Mai, the only other person who has ever done that for me was _my_ mother, and even she could only do so much right under my father’s nose. That shows more than anything how good of a mother you would be. You may not be as fluffy as some other people, but you are fiercely protective of the people you love.” He finished quietly. 

Mai couldn’t breathe. She definitely couldn’t speak. What in Agni’s name did she ever do to deserve him? Her mind was racing, evaluating everything he said. She did do all of those things, but she hadn’t realized that they were perceived as love. He was right though, of course she loved her family, friends and especially Zuko. She suddenly felt a great weight lifted off of her heart. Maybe she wouldn’t be such a terrible mother? It was an exciting thought. They hadn’t even tried for a child yet, and Mai already knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she would face Azula ten times over for their child. She swallowed before she spoke. 

“Do you really mean it?” she asked tentatively. 

“Every word,” he assured her before continuing. “Besides, Ozai was my father and even though it was hard I turned out alright didn’t I? We know you can’t possibly be worse than Ozai.” He chuckled softly. 

“Gee thanks dear, maybe I am ready to start that family you were talking about. Especially now that I’ve reached the dazzling heights of ‘not worse than Ozai.’” she deadpanned before taking on a more serious note. “But honestly Zuko, if you really think I can do it, then maybe it is time to start trying for our ‘future Fire Lord’” she finished softly, smiling at her husband.

It took Zuko about four seconds to process her words before jumping up to wrap her in his arms and spin them around. “Mai are you sure? I didn’t mean to pressure you, there’s no rush to decide anytime soon, and especially not because the stupid Fire Sages said we should. But… if you really mean it what do you say we get started right now?” he asked excitedly. Mai grinned as her husband finally set her feet back down on the ground. 

“I mean it Zuko, I’m ready to start our family. But if you really want to start tonight, you better try complimenting me again. Its gonna take a lot more than ‘better than Ozai’ to seduce me that easily.”

His laughter echoed down the halls of the palace.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are mentions of difficulty getting pregnant in this chapter.

“Are you sure everything is ok? I don’t want to get everyone’s hopes up again.” Mai asked cautiously. 

“Everything looks fine to me Mai. Both your heartbeat and the baby’s heartbeat is strong and you haven’t had any issues or pains yet. As far as I can tell, you’ve got a healthy baby growing. From the feel of it, I’d guess that you’re about seven or eight weeks along now.” Katara answered patiently. “Have you told Zuko yet?” 

“No, I haven’t told anyone other than you. I didn’t want to get his hopes up again only for it to be another false alarm. And I wanted you to check me out a second time to make sure there weren’t any issues.” Mai explained. “I can’t bear to break his heart a second time. He was so excited a few months ago when I thought I might be pregnant.” Mai sighed. 

“I understand.” Katara said gently. “You two have been trying for a while now right?” 

“Over a year.” Mai replied. “I’m so relieved. I was starting worry about conceiving, especially after we had waited a few years to start trying. Zuko wants a child so badly, I was starting to think maybe we couldn’t…” she trailed off as her eyes watered a little bit. She didn’t want to cry in front of Katara, but she felt so relieved now that there was such a big weight off her shoulders. They had been trying for several months and after Mai’s false alarm, she was worried she wouldn’t be able to have kids at all. She had spent dozens of sleepless nights panicking and trying to figure out how she would break the news to Zuko. But now she felt immensely happy, and beyond relieved. _She was pregnant._ She _could_ have kids. 

Katara placed her hand gently on Mai’s shoulder and smiled warmly at her. “Congratulations Mai. Zuko will be so excited. I’ll try and come by once a month to check on you and the baby. I’m so happy for you Mai! When are you gonna tell him?” she asked excitedly. 

“As soon as possible I guess. He’s in a meeting with Aang and some Earth ambassador for the next few hours, but I’ll probably try and pull him away afterwards.” Mai said smiling. “I can’t wait to see his face.”

~

It was many hours later and Mai still had not seen Zuko. She knew the meeting was over, she had seen Ambassador Wu leave over an hour ago, saw Aang and Katara lounging in the courtyard, but had yet to see her husband. She had been waiting in their bedroom for him since he always came back to change out of his full regalia after a meeting. Today proved to be the exception, as Mai waited for nearly an hour and still hadn’t seen him. She left to wander around the palace for her evasive husband, but the courtyard, throne room, and meeting chambers were all empty. Mai even checked the kitchen and the training room but saw no sign of Zuko. The only place she hadn’t checked yet was his personal study, so she headed towards that wing of the palace.

Sure enough, as Mai cracked open the door to his office, she saw her husband poring over some papers on his desk with his head in his hand. It was unusual for him to retreat to his office after a long meeting. Zuko always tried to relax after particularly long meetings, especially when his friends were here. Why was he in here now? She opened the door a little further to enter his office when he snapped without looking up. 

“How many times have I had to tell you to _knock_ before entering? I’ve told you not to come in unannoun- _Mai!_ ” he stuttered when he finally looked up and saw his wife standing in the door with her eyebrow raised. 

“Sorry to interrupt, I thought that after four years of marriage the Fire Lady had permission to come see her husband when she hasn’t had the chance to talk to him all day.” She deadpanned, crossing her arms. “But I can leave if you’re gonna be in a sour mood.” 

He sighed and put his head in his hands. “I’m sorry Mai I didn’t see that it was you.” 

“Evidently.” She replied. She uncrossed her arms and walked over to where he was sitting and took his face in her hands. “You look terrible” she said, frowning. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was all messed up and she could tell he had been tugging at it.

“I love you too.” He responded sarcastically, but relaxed when she began to run her thumb over his cheekbone. “I didn’t sleep very well last night because I was up thinking about this meeting today, and then I was so tired I didn’t pay attention very well in the actual meeting. I think Aang was a little annoyed that I kept asking him to repeat stuff.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “I wanted to come try and get some work done today so I wouldn’t feel like such a failure.” 

“You’re not a failure. Even if Aang was a little annoyed at you, I’m pretty sure he’s over it now. I just saw him and Katara chasing a turtleduck around the courtyard.” She reassured him.

“Fantastic, now they’re riling up my turtleducks,” he chuckled softly. “How was your day with Katara? Aang said she was excited to spend some time with you. I was hoping the four of us would get to spend some time together today but I didn’t anticipate having to make up all of this work due to my complete lack of professionalism.” He sighed deeply and wrapped his arms around her middle. Mai pulled his head against her stomach, smiling to herself. 

“Everyone has bad days Zuko, and Aang is probably the most understanding person in the world. Besides, Katara and I were talking today; I think we’ll be seeing them a lot more frequently in the future.” Mai said as she smoothed Zuko’s hair. 

“What makes you say that? Is everything ok?” Worry crept into his tone. 

“Everything is fine. Great, actually. I’ve been looking for you all afternoon to tell you.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “Zuko, I’m pregnant.” 

He tensed next to her before slowly lifting his head up from her stomach. “You- you’re pregnant?” his hands gripped her hips. 

“I’m pregnant, and this time I’m sure of it. Katara checked everything this morning. I’ve suspected for a few weeks now, but I didn’t want to get your hopes up until I was one hundred percent sure. Katara is going to come visit every month until the baby is born” Mai smiled and brushed the hair out of his face. 

“Until the baby… _our_ baby is born…” Zuko repeated in wonder. As if the words finally sunk in, he jumped up from his seat and gathered Mai into his arms before lifting her feet off the ground and swinging her slightly. “Mai, that’s incredible, I- I don’t even know what to say.” He set her back down and pulled away to plant a soft kiss on her lips, her nose, her cheeks, and anywhere else he could reach. “Are you alright? Do you feel alright? What did Katara say, is everything ok? Is-” he stuttered before Mai put her finger on his lips to quiet him.

“I’m fine Zuko, I feel alright, and Katara said both mine and the baby’s heartbeat feel strong.” She responded. “She thinks I’m about seven weeks along.” He tucked her against his chest again, squeezing her tight, but not as tight as usual, she noticed. She smiled into his shoulder, relieved that they were finally able to start their family. “I was worried that maybe we couldn’t,” she whispered softly into his robes, “but we’re going to be parents Zuko.”

“We’re going to have a baby.” He whispered against her hair before suddenly pulling away. “We have to go tell Aang! And we’ll have to send word to Sokka and Toph! Oh and Suki! And Ty Lee! And how could I forget about Uncle! He’ll be so excited!” he said excitedly and hurried out of his office with Mai in tow, papers on the desk forgotten.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not the greatest writer, I mainly write these for fun, and I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I hope you enjoy!

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose as he walked down the halls of the palace towards the courtyard. There was a small headache there that had been nagging him all morning. He had just gotten out of a four-hour trade meeting with some Earth Kingdom leaders and he only had about an hour before he met with his army generals. He was hoping to find his wife in the courtyard so he could spend the hour with her before he was tossed back to the wolves. Sure enough, as soon as he stepped out into the courtyard a knife whizzed past his nose and landed on the wooden pillar to his left. 

“It’s a little bit early in the day for an assassination attempt don’t you think?” Zuko smiled as he saw his wife standing in the courtyard, another knife in hand. 

“You know that if I wanted to hit you, I would have.” She replied with an edge in her voice before hurling another knife towards a different pillar. Zuko could tell something was off; it was not unusual for Mai to practice her knife throwing, but she rarely threw her knives with such force. Mai was angry. He wasn’t sure why though; he hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary, and she had seemed alright this morning. 

“Is everything alright? You seem a little bit tense; did something happen this morning?” he asked tentatively. 

“No. Everything. Is. Fine.” She punctuated each word with a knife in the pillar.

“Our courtyard begs to differ.” Another knife thrown, this one a little closer to where Zuko was standing. 

“Did you just come out here to bother me Zuko?” she snapped and turned towards him. “I’ve just been throwing knives all morning, everything is _fine_ , so would you back off already?” She was definitely mad about something, but now Zuko was frustrated.

“I’m not trying to bother you Mai, Agni forbid I come out here to spend time with my _pregnant_ wife before having to go back to work. I’m going to do plenty of fighting with the generals later, so if all you’re gonna do is yell at me then I’ll see you at dinner.” He huffed and turned to go.

“You’re meeting with the generals later?” Mai asked quietly.

“Yes. We’re reviewing the new recruitment and training program and trying to decide whether or not to send troops to monitor some of the roads where there have been a lot of bandit attacks. I’ve been dreading it because General Zhang never wants to take his troops anywhere except to invade someone.” Zuko responded annoyed. 

“Try not to laugh at General Zhang’s hair when you see it later.” Mai said bitterly and turned to throw yet another knife. 

“Wait what? What happened to General Zhang’s hair?” he asked cautiously. Mai hated General Zhang. 

“I cut off his top knot.” She said dryly with her back to him. 

“You _WHAT?_ ” Zuko exclaimed. She had to be messing with him. Mai wasn’t a fan of any of the army generals, but she would never attack them unprovoked. Mai knew his relationship with them was difficult, but extremely important to maintain, and she would never interfere with it! 

He walked over to her and grabbed her arm to face him. “Mai why the hell would you do that? You know how important my relations with the military are! Mai what if you had _hit him?_ All of my hard work could’ve been ruined. Why were you even talking to General Zhang?” 

She immediately ripped her arm out of his grip and furiously pitched a shuriken into the tree overlooking the pond. “Don’t be ridiculous Zuko you know I don’t miss. General Zhang came to _me_ this morning, uninvited. I didn’t send him away because I _know_ how hard you’ve worked to make nice with the military leaders, so don’t you dare lecture me about ruining your relationships. You sound just like my father.” She said bitingly. “But he started saying all these horrible things about me and our child! What did you expect me to do? He was the one that was stupid enough to talk to me like that when I visibly had at least three knives in-hand. He’s lucky I didn’t aim for his throat. A ‘non-bender disgrace’ my _ass._ ” She finished scathingly and turned to look at him, arms crossed. 

Zuko tensed immediately at her explanation. He met her eyes which were alight with fury, but he could also see a flicker of hurt in them. Mai not being a bender had been a topic of controversy many years ago when they first got engaged to be married, but people eventually got bored of this and have since moved on. Mai had always claimed that she didn’t care about what people said about her as long as Zuko didn’t care (he didn’t), but he always thought there seemed to be a slight sense of insecurity there. As for the comment about her father, Zuko felt horrible. Mai had spent her entire childhood keeping quiet for her father’s career and Zuko couldn’t bear the thought of doing that to her without even hearing her side. He could see it in her eyes now, the anger was fading, and the pain grew more and more prominent.

“What exactly did he say?” Zuko asked slowly. 

Mai sighed and dropped her arms, but there was still an edge to her tone. “He started off saying that I shouldn’t be exerting myself while I was pregnant, since bearing the Fire Nation a healthy child is my ‘only purpose.’ Then he corrected himself and said my only duty was to bear a healthy _firebender._ ” She spat. “Then he was going on about how unfortunate it was that you had married a non-bender like me, and asked where we planned to send our child if it couldn’t bend. I told him we wouldn’t be sending our child anywhere, bending or not. He got angry and said it was bad enough with one non-bender in the royal family, and that it would be humiliating to have two non-benders.” 

“And then you threw a knife at him?” Zuko asked. 

“Sliced his top not clean off and yelled at him to get out of my sight before I aimed lower. As he left he said I was a disgrace and that no one would ever respect me again.” She wrapped her arms around herself before bowing her head, the fight had left her voice and shame took its place. “I’m sorry I lost control. I hope it doesn’t mess up your meeting.” To Zuko’s horror her eyes filled with unshed tears. “He’s right about one thing. Now you, and everyone else in the Fire Nation will think I’m some violent, hot-headed bitch who attacked a general because she couldn’t control her temper. They’ll think I’m not fit to be allowed anywhere near a child.” She turned around and wiped at her eyes. 

Zuko couldn’t believe his ears. How _dare_ anyone speak to Mai like that? Speak about their _child_ like that? He was furious; his hands clenched tightly at his side. He was running through all of the horrible things he wanted to do to General Zhang, when he heard a small sob from his wife. Zuko could count on one hand the amount of times he had seen Mai cry. He rushed forward and pulled her tightly into his arms, cradling her head in his hand and placed a kiss on her forehead. He felt her hands grip the front of his robes as she pressed her face into his shoulder. 

“Mai, don’t you dare apologize. I’m the one who should be sorry for accusing you, I should’ve known better, and I never want to treat you the way your father did. I am so sorry Zhang said those awful, archaic things to you. He’s being completely stupid; there have been several non-benders in the royal family. _My_ mother wasn’t a bender. And I most certainly do not care if our child can bend or not, we’ll love them unconditionally. I’m glad you sliced off his hair. I’m proud you lasted that long and didn’t do more damage than that. I certainly wouldn’t have lasted that long, and he’d have a scar of his own by now.” He squeezed her a little tighter. Mai pulled away slightly and blinked a few times. 

“Thank you,” she said softly. “It doesn’t change the fact that people are going to think I’m a violent hothead though. It wasn’t very Fire Lady of me, and it certainly wasn’t very motherly.” She sighed and dropped her forehead to his chest again. Something sparked in Zuko’s brain. 

“Come sit with me by the pond for a bit.” He said before guiding her over to the turtleduck pond and plopping down on the grass. Mai went to sit beside him, but he pulled her gently onto his lap and she leaned back against his chest

“Have I ever told you about the time a turtleduck bit me while I was feeding them with my mom?” he asked her. 

“No, you said the turtleducks were gentle and they always loved you and your mom.” Mai responded, confused. 

“They did for the most part. But one day my mom and I were out here feeding the ducks like we always did. I was joking around and chucked a whole loaf of bread at one of the babies and knocked it completely underwater.”

“Zuko why would you do that?” Mai chided. Zuko smiled to himself. 

“That’s exactly what my mom said. Right after I threw the loaf, the mama turtleduck started quacking at me and chomped on my ankle and wouldn’t let go. My mom had to tug it off and put it back in the pond. It really hurt, I was embarrassed, and I was fuming. I called it stupid and asked my mom why it would do something like that, and do you know what she said?” Mai shook her head. 

“She said ‘Zuko, that’s what moms are like. If you mess with their babies, they’re gonna bite you back.’ And she was right. Moms protect their babies, and that’s what you did. I think it shows a lot of strength and a lot of backbone to stand up to General Zhang, and I can’t think of anything more motherly than that. There’s definitely no one else I’d rather be the mother of my children.” 

“Thank you Zuko.” Mai whispered softly. They spent a few minutes watching the turtleducks and enjoying the sun before she spoke again.

“Next time General Zhang better watch out, because I won’t hesitate to do a lot worse than a haircut.” She said. 

“There won’t even be a next time if I have anything to say about it. In fact, I’m about to go tear General Zhang apart at this meeting and tell him to never set foot in the palace again unless he wants to face the wrath of me and my wife. I hope he looks stupid without a top knot.” Zuko grunted.

“Oh trust me, he does.”


End file.
